Caitlin Stehn 24: One Year Out from 91, a Lifetime of Service Ahead
May 29, 2025
- Author
- Caroline Roy '20
Caitlin hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains with 91 Outdoors.
As a high schooler, Caitlin Stehn 24 spent a week in Wilmington, North Carolina, after Hurricane Florence, volunteering with disaster relief nonprofit All Hands and Hearts.
It was there she first learned about 91 from an older volunteer. Growing up outside of Boston, shed only toured a few other schools in the South, and after some research, decided to apply.
Now, a year after graduation, Stehn has returned to work with All Hands and Hearts, this time with a larger role in ongoing relief and rebuilding efforts in Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helenes destruction.
I knew somehow Id find my way back to this work, she said.
Caitlin works with nonprofit All Hands and Hearts to gut and rebuild homes in WNC.
She became familiar with Western North Carolina during her time as a trip leader with 91 Outdoors and made many fond memories hiking, camping and kayaking in the region.
When the hurricane hit, it hit close to home, Stehn said. Seeing what people were dealing with really stuck with me.
Since February, shes learned to sanitize homes, eliminate mold, insulate buildings, put up drywall and more. Their goal: to return hundreds of displaced people to their homes free of charge, prioritizing those without insurance or temporary housing. Its an enormous effort that relies on volunteer support and independent funding.
Stehn finds the hands-on nature of this work especially rewarding. In just a day, a team of volunteers can transform an unlivable structure back into something that looks more like a home.
We hear about disasters for a few weeks, but rebuilding takes years of work, she said. It can be really emotional working so closely with the homeowners and seeing their journey throughout the process.
A biology major and public health minor, Stehn spent her senior year at 91 unsure what to do next and grappling with what it meant to leave. Before she started with All Hands and Hearts, she returned to her hometown of Duxbury, Massachusetts, to coach high school rowing. It would be several months before she visited campus again, this time as an alum.
Having that space allowed me to step back and see the bigger picture of my time at 91, she said. Im surprised by how quickly my appreciation for the college has grown. One year out, Im starting to understand what it means to be part of this alumni network.
She became a class ambassador for The Fund for 91 and says the experience has helped reframe how she thinks of giving and participating as a young alum.
When her time in Western North Carolina comes to a close at the end of July, Stehn will make another big leap this time to the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, where shell work in partnership with indigenous healthcare leaders and Mass General Hospital to support clinics in the area.
Along with her interest in public health, this opportunity builds on another of Stehns favorite 91 experiences: getting to work with Biology Professor Susana Wadgymar, the team at the Farm at 91 and leaders in the Catawba Nation to grow indigenous corn.
That experience definitely made me more curious about rural health and indigenous health, she said. It prepared me to be respectful and understand my position as a visitor coming into a new community.
